The Air Jordan 5 was released in 1990 and once again featured innovative and creative designs and features.

New Coach, Higher Hopes?

Phil Jackson replaced Doug Collins as head coach of the Bulls in the 1989-90 season. This year was the best record that the Bulls since Jordan joined the team as well as a franchise best record at 55-27. Jordan also hit his personal best when he hit 69 points again Cleveland. Jordan also hit 92 three-pointers compared to only 68 in all of the prior seasons combined! Jordan again took home the scoring title, All-Star, First Team, and All-Defense.

High Flying Design

The Air Jordan 5 featured a unique style cooked up by Tinker Hatfield. The Air Jordan 5 was inspired by the WW2 Mustang fighter plane. The most obvious element of the inspiration is the shark teeth shapes on the midsole of the shoe. The Air Jordan 5 also was the first Jordan shoe to have a clear sole. This not only added a nice look to the Air Jordan 5, but provided far better traction. The Air Jordan 5 also featured an iridescent reflective tongue and lacelocks.

Yellow Soles Assist Retro Sales

Though the Air Jordan 5 would sell just fine on its own, the fact that the shoes had clear rubber soles helped convince many Jordan collectors to buy a retro pair. The Air Jordan 5 soles would turn yellow over time and almost amber. The Jordan 5 is not alone with the yellow sole blues - the Jordan 6, Jordan 11, and Jordan 16 all had major parts of the soles made of clear rubber.The Air Jordan 5 was retroed in late 1999 in White/Black-Fire Red and Black/Black-met silver and once again there was a great demand for them. Retro+ models were also produced of the Air Jordan 5. One of them featured Michaels high school colors (Laney High School).The Air Jordan 5 is set to retro again in 2006. Keep your eyes open for these!